To PCT mile 2595 (stats here).
I had planned to get up earlier, but did not want to disturb the sleep of others. I got up 6:30am when the others started to move as well. The other hikers did not hurry though, and I was first to depart the campground. I was sure that they would overtake me soon enough.
I took the hiking very carefully. I was determined to take my usual breaks no matter what the weather and keep the pace low. Luckily the weather was good and in this national park the campground facilities were great. There were an outhouse and a picnic table at every campground. And you could find a campground every now and then.
To my great delight, I could keep the pain in my feet in check. I utilised the neoprene compression sock a lot and did the same exercises that I did for the tendonitis in my left leg way back diligently, now just for my right leg. I could walk pretty normally and keep the pace around 2.5 mph.
When I kept my second break, a familiar figure approached me. Brown Streak had already reached the end of the trail and was now hiking back south towards Stehekin. He was glowing and congratulated me happily for being close to an end. He wanted to get back to the bakery and just greet hikers he had met one more time before leaving the trail. What a great thing to do. My spirits were lifted.
When I continued hiking, it did not take long to see two hikers having a conversation on a trail. The other was Bible, the other some day hiker. I joined the conversation and after the moment continued hiking with Bible the next 3 miles or so. It was fun but I needed to be careful in order to still observe how my leg was doing. When talking, I cannot pay attention to anything else that well.
Meeting all of these people and having conversations made the time fly, and I suddenly noticed that I had covered almost 20 miles and getting near to Rainy Pass. My spirits lifted. It seemed that my leg was holding up well enough to do the rest of the miles.
At Rainy Pass, it started to rain and as I got to a higher elevation, it got noticeably colder. It had been gradual but constant uphill the whole way from Stehekin, all in all about 4000 feet. Rainy Pass was a place where you might have ended your hike just two weeks ago as the fire closure around the area was bigger. You could still find the fake miniature monument that congratulated hikers for the effort. Now the trail was open again and still some 60 miles to go.
I hoped that there would have been some trail magic at the trail head but there was nobody. After I tried to use the pit toilet unsuccessfully, a car arrived at the parking lot. After the driver learned that I am thru hiking, he offered me a beer. I have not been a huge fan of beer on trail anymore, but I happily accepted.
The beer threw me a bit off my intended schedule, and made me colder, but I still intended to hit the 25 mile mark for the day. It would have meant camping pretty high, at over 6000 feet and doing 5 more miles. The weather was getting colder though, and the rain started again. On contrary to my usual habits, I decided to filter water from the next water source instead of doing that from the last possible stream before the planned camping spot. I do not like handling water when it is too cold. Carrying a heavier pack uphill also makes you more warm, I reasoned.
The camp spot was pretty full when I arrived. There were lots of weekend campers and PCT hikers, all already inside their tents. I tried to look for the best possible remaining spot, but could not find anything that did not have a risk of getting flooded if it would rain a lot, or anything that would have cover from trees. I settled for the next best thing. A head came out from the nearby tent. It was Heiny. The whole group from the previous night was here at the same spot. What a coincidence. They seemed to be so much faster that I thought they would be much further away. I was glad I was able to match their pace.
I had planned to get up earlier, but did not want to disturb the sleep of others. I got up 6:30am when the others started to move as well. The other hikers did not hurry though, and I was first to depart the campground. I was sure that they would overtake me soon enough.
I took the hiking very carefully. I was determined to take my usual breaks no matter what the weather and keep the pace low. Luckily the weather was good and in this national park the campground facilities were great. There were an outhouse and a picnic table at every campground. And you could find a campground every now and then.
 |
| The start of the day went great and the weather seemed to be improving. |
To my great delight, I could keep the pain in my feet in check. I utilised the neoprene compression sock a lot and did the same exercises that I did for the tendonitis in my left leg way back diligently, now just for my right leg. I could walk pretty normally and keep the pace around 2.5 mph.
When I kept my second break, a familiar figure approached me. Brown Streak had already reached the end of the trail and was now hiking back south towards Stehekin. He was glowing and congratulated me happily for being close to an end. He wanted to get back to the bakery and just greet hikers he had met one more time before leaving the trail. What a great thing to do. My spirits were lifted.
 |
| We are all part of the same family. |
When I continued hiking, it did not take long to see two hikers having a conversation on a trail. The other was Bible, the other some day hiker. I joined the conversation and after the moment continued hiking with Bible the next 3 miles or so. It was fun but I needed to be careful in order to still observe how my leg was doing. When talking, I cannot pay attention to anything else that well.
Meeting all of these people and having conversations made the time fly, and I suddenly noticed that I had covered almost 20 miles and getting near to Rainy Pass. My spirits lifted. It seemed that my leg was holding up well enough to do the rest of the miles.
 |
| As the day progressed, the cloud coverage increased once again. |
At Rainy Pass, it started to rain and as I got to a higher elevation, it got noticeably colder. It had been gradual but constant uphill the whole way from Stehekin, all in all about 4000 feet. Rainy Pass was a place where you might have ended your hike just two weeks ago as the fire closure around the area was bigger. You could still find the fake miniature monument that congratulated hikers for the effort. Now the trail was open again and still some 60 miles to go.
I hoped that there would have been some trail magic at the trail head but there was nobody. After I tried to use the pit toilet unsuccessfully, a car arrived at the parking lot. After the driver learned that I am thru hiking, he offered me a beer. I have not been a huge fan of beer on trail anymore, but I happily accepted.
The beer threw me a bit off my intended schedule, and made me colder, but I still intended to hit the 25 mile mark for the day. It would have meant camping pretty high, at over 6000 feet and doing 5 more miles. The weather was getting colder though, and the rain started again. On contrary to my usual habits, I decided to filter water from the next water source instead of doing that from the last possible stream before the planned camping spot. I do not like handling water when it is too cold. Carrying a heavier pack uphill also makes you more warm, I reasoned.
The camp spot was pretty full when I arrived. There were lots of weekend campers and PCT hikers, all already inside their tents. I tried to look for the best possible remaining spot, but could not find anything that did not have a risk of getting flooded if it would rain a lot, or anything that would have cover from trees. I settled for the next best thing. A head came out from the nearby tent. It was Heiny. The whole group from the previous night was here at the same spot. What a coincidence. They seemed to be so much faster that I thought they would be much further away. I was glad I was able to match their pace.
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